Utah’s gymnastics team is on a bye this week, but it still made an improvement, at least for the future, with the signing of U.S. National Team member Maile O’Keefe.
O’Keefe, from Las Vegas, was a member of the 2016-17 national team along with current Ute MyKayla Skinner and incoming freshman Abby Paulson.
“Her gymnastics has the perfect blend of power, elegance and consistency that makes for exceptional routines on every event,” Utah coach Tom Farden said of O’Keefe.
O’Keefe was a national team member from 2016-18 and is the first national all-around champion to ever sign with the Utes. She captured five total individual national titles in the junior division, winning the all-around in 2016 and 2017, beam and floor in 2016 and bars in 2017. She was second on vault, beam and floor at the 2017 championships.
O’Keefe qualified as an international elite in 2013 and has amassed a resume full of international competition, including an integral role in Team USA’s gold medal at the City of Jesolo Trophy in Italy, placing second in the all-around and floor and third on the bars and beam.
In addition to adding Paulson and O’Keefe, the Utes signed Junior Olympic national champions Jillian Hoffman and Jaedyn Rucker in November.
“Our fans are going to love this extremely talented freshman class that will be competing for us next year,” Farden said.